Brittney Griner went through one of the toughest phases of her life during her stint in a Russian penal colony. She was detained for illegal possession of drugs and after months of geopolitical diplomacy, the WNBA star returned to American soil. Since then Griner has been using her platform to raise awareness to help people who are going through the same struggles.

However, there is a section of people who are not stoked about Griner’s attempt to highlight the relevant issues. In fact, she was recently trolled for the book announcement she made. Amidst heavy backlash, Griner aims to publish her book on the “unfathomable period” of her life in 2024. While the Phoenix Mercury star continues to fight the good fight, a WNBA legend has shed light on the lesser talked about struggles of the female basketball star’s illustrious life.

WNBA legend commends Brittney Griner’s resilience and inner strength

TIME Magazine recently announced its annual list of the 100 most influential people. On this year’s list, Brittney Griner has been named among the “Icons” category. Griner’s profile was written by 4x WNBA champion Sue Bird.

Bird wrote that Griner’s story is a representation of much more than what meets the eye. She said, “It?s about resilience”, mentioning her struggle of 10 months in exile overseas. Bird added, “But underneath this story of inner strength is so much more.” She then highlighted the problems faced by female athletes in basketball, especially around pay inequality.

She said that Griner’s detainment shed light on other issues as well, because while discussing Griner, people also talked about the disparity in pay between male and female athletes. Bird said that pay inequality is one of the major reasons that “sometimes compel us to put ourselves in dangerous situations to maximize our financial worth.”

The winner of five Olympic gold medals added that because of Griner, several other people facing the same issues will get help. She said the 2014 WNBA champion’s struggles “brought to light the dozens of Americans wrongfully detained around the world.” Bird is positive that Griner will continue to fight against injustice and she will use her platform to highlight such issues.

Griner’s book based on the hardships she went through is set to be released in 2024, as per several reports. However, some people don’t like the idea of her claiming herself as a victim of “wrongful detainment”.

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Brittney Griner faced backlash over her upcoming book announcement

Two days ago, Griner announced her upcoming book based on the “unfathomable period” of her life. Shortly after the announcement, people went against her while calling her out for “lack of accountability”. Although Griner did call her detainment “wrongful”, the media outlets who reported the announcement amplified the issue. After that people put Griner on blast across social media platforms.

Through her book, Griner wishes to highlight the plight of other victims who are wrongfully detained in a foreign land.

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